Why Does My Emission Spectra Prediction Program Differ from Lab Results?

[Eternius]

Hi there. I'm new to this board so please excuse if this is misplaced, there seems to be too many places to choose from.

While browsing my computer I found a little program I wrote when doing year 12 physics that was based on the textbook material about ionization energies. It recurssively calculates possible 'electron jumps' between energy levels and approximately displays the visible portion of the resulting photons. You can download it http://www.heraldsofdeath.com/geargod/downloads/freq.exe . It will ask for a number of electrons and for each one, the ionization energy required. It will then ask the recurssion depth, think of this as the 'temperature' to which the 'sample' is heated.

The program has no trouble calculating hydrogen and several other atoms if I remember right, but for other atoms the output is very different from lab results. Could someone explain to me why this is the case? I'm afraid that I have not touched physics since then and if anything, got stupider over the time.

 

[inha]

What kind of an calculational scheme did you use? Since it was based on a grade 12 textbook I really doubt it was too realistic. To get accurate results you'd have to consider screening and electron-electron correlation effects for example. Every electron in an atom interacts with the others via quantum mechanical effects and the Coulomb interaction and that makes atoms very complex systems. You probably got the best results with hydrogen-like atoms because... well because they're hydrogen-like and it's the simplest possible atom.

 

[denian]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Your program sounds like a great way to explore emission spectra. The reason why your program may be giving different results than lab experiments is because emission spectra are highly dependent on external factors such as temperature, pressure, and the presence of other elements. In a lab setting, these factors can be carefully controlled and measured, which may result in more accurate emission spectra. Additionally, emission spectra can also be affected by the specific energy levels of the electrons in the atom, which may vary from atom to atom. So while your program may be able to accurately calculate emission spectra for some atoms, it may not be able to account for all of the external factors and variations in energy levels that can affect the results. Overall, your program is a great tool for predicting emission spectra, but it is important to keep in mind that lab experiments may still provide more accurate and reliable results.